Posts from Middle Eastern

Balaboosta translates literally from Yiddish to "perfect housewife." For Einat Admony, restaurant-owner and survivor of Food Network's Chopped, this idea has nothing to do with keeping an immaculate house or having dinner ready by 5:00. To her, a balaboosta nourishes with laughter as well as with food, cares for family and friends not out of expectation but out of deep love, and perhaps most of all, cooks from the gut. This cookbook is both her ode to the modern balaboosta and her handbook for how to be one.

I recently spent a few days with Najmieh Batmanglij — known to many as the Queen of Persian Cooking — who opened me up to the cooking of her native Iran, and in particular to a rice dish called Jeweled Rice, or Javaher Polow.

When I took my first bite, I almost cried from a near overload in flavor, fragrance, balance and a notable infusion of love in the grains of rice, tart little barberries, and strands of candied orange peel.

It's easy to make a pretty basic salad with lettuces and summer tomatoes this time of year. Produce is at the height of freshness and if you're using sweet, juicy tomatoes they often need very little dressing. But when you find yourself inspired to go beyond basic greens, fattoush is a fresh, filling salad that celebrates summer tomatoes like no other.

Set aside the afternoon and make yourself another cup of coffee because this book on Iraqi cuisine by Nawal Nasrallah will draw you in so completely that you won't realize the hours have passed. Part cookbook, part history book, part bedtime story (at least for me!) — Delights from the Garden of Eden is a veritable encyclopedia of anything and everything having to do with Iraqi cuisine.

You'd think I didn't like fresh tomatoes, the way I avoid them most of the year. Yet it's precisely because I love tomatoes — ripe, juicy, just-plucked and not shipped-around-the-world ones — that I wait until summer. At last the season has arrived, filling my dinner plate with colorful rounds of heirloom tomatoes. Here's one way I like to serve them: a simple salad with a sweet, tangy pomegranate and sumac dressing and a handful of fresh herbs.

I'm fairly convinced that hummus is some of the best stuff on earth. It might look beige and boring in the bowl, but this blend of soft chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic creates a dip that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Skip the store bought stuff — making it yourself is so easy and will be far tastier than just about anything from the deli section.

As a member of the punk band UK Subs, vegetarian musician Nicky Garratt spent a lot of time traveling the world, searching for meatless meals along the way. This often meant having to fend for himself, and as he learned to cook, Garratt discovered that the cuisines of India, North Africa, and the Middle East were "goldmines" of vegan-friendly flavor, color, texture, and aroma.

Ramadan (in Arabic: رمضان, Ramadān) is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. During the whole month, faithful observers of Islam fast from sunrise (Sahour) to sunset (Iftar). During the fast, no food or drink is consumed, and thoughts must be kept pure. Followers of Islam believe that fasting helps the Muslim learn patience, modesty, and spirituality. Meals are served before sunrise and after sunset, and eaten with family or with the local community.

Baklava is one of those desserts that has a reputation for difficulty, but is actually surprisingly easy to make. I suspect this is because working with phyllo dough always seems tricky, but if you follow a few very simple tips, it's really not — and the results are addictive. Read on for how to make a pan of sticky, sweet, buttery, flaky, nutty baklava!

Q: I recently returned from a trip to Turkey, along with 250g of Turkish coffee (about 2 cups). I have an ibrik and love making Turkish coffee, but wondered if there was anything else I could do with it considering how finely ground it is. Thoughts on recipes?